Reed structure for musical instrument



Dec. 16, 1958 ca. J. JACOMIN! 2,864,274

REED STRUCTURE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed June 6, 1957 FIG. 2.

' 27 27 GABRIEL HYJVEXEQJRMINI Wu ATTORNEY.

United States Patent O REED STRUCTURE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Gabriel J. Jacominhsunnsyside, N; Y.

Applicationalune 6, 1957-, Serial No. 664,081

8 Claims. (Cl; 8 43 63) This invention relates to reed structures for musical instruments, and is an improvement over the structuredisclosed in Patent No. 2,787,928 granted April 9, 1957.

In the structure of said prior patent'the air-inlet port communicating with the reed chamber is disposedat one end of the structure adjacent the. narrow free end of the reed or tongue, the valve members being located in said port. it has been. found that inasmuch as the inrushing air is initially in contact with only'the extreme free end of the tongue, there is an unequal distribution of air pressure along the length of the tongue, causing an uneven vibratory action, with disproportionately high-amplitude vibration at the tip of the tongue. The resulting sound does not have the required fullness and fidelity, particularly since not all the overtones which the tongue is capable of producing are brought out.

In my present invention a novel construction of two inlet ports flanking the reed along a substantial length thereof is employed, there being a pair of such ports at the front and another pair at the rear of the reed structure, one valve member being coactively positioned between the front and rear ports on one side of the reed,

and another valve member being coactively positioned between the front and rear ports on the other side of the reed. Because such ports extend down preferably from the tip of the reed along the sides thereof, there is a more even distribution of air along the length of the reed than is possible with the structure of the prior patent. With this construction it has been found that fuller and more ample tones are obtained throughout the entire period of each operative actuation of the tongue. It has also been found that tones of relatively great reed fidelity are obtained, since the tongue is permitted to produce all the overtones which it is potentially capable of producing along a substantial portion of its length.

In the structure of said prior patent the two frame components of the reed structure are held together by an extremely small rivet at the top of the structure, there being insufficient room for a heavier fastener because of the presence of said port at the end of the reed. This disadvantage is overcome in the present invention, in that there is no port at the upper end of the reed structure, thereby permitting the use of a structurally stronger fastener, and eliminating the need to employ the two additional fasteners required in the structure of the prior patent. The present construction therefore provides sufficient structural strength for maintaining the components of the reed device in coactive relation, at a minimum cost of production.

It is also an object of this invention to facilitate the assembling of the two frame components by providing a novel pilot-pin structure within the body of the frame.

it is further within the contemplation of this invention to improve upon conventional reed structures of the type which employ two laterally adjacent tongues, one operable upon inspiration and the other upon expiration, such as occurs upon the operative expansion and contraction ofthe bellows of. an accordion. The-present invention obviates the useof-two suchv tongues, employing a single tongue in a reed chamber exposed to oppositely directioned air currents, the tongue member of my invention being of straight-and-unbent configuration, as distinguished' from the conventional tongues which are bent away from thesupportingframework:toprovide clearance for the vibratory movement of the tonguet' The said conventional :bent. tongue'construction-is costly to fabricate; and moreover, it is extremely difficult. to obtain the same degree of bendfor analagous tongues, .so that the quality of the tone is unpredictable and extremely diflicult to control.diff eren't instruments with the same conventional reed structure frequently having different tonal qualities. In my invention a straight. tongue is employed, as aforesaid, the framework being of avnovel predetermined configuration so as -to provide a predetermined. amount of. clearance. Prefabricated structures of this. type canbe fabricated on a mass production basis, and. ofsuch dimensional precision'as to permit predetermined clearance, and movement not only, of the tongue member, but also of the valve member, .whereby tonal qualities of uniform characteristics and maximum fidelity can beobtained.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawingsandthe description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure'l is a perspective front view ofthe reed structure .oftmy invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective rear viewofzsaid reedistructure:

Figure 3 is a rear elevational view ofthe front casing frame, the rear casing being removed;

Figure 4 is a frontelevational view-of the rear casing frame, thefrontframe being removed.

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken throughthe central reed chamberof the device of Fig. l, the section being taken substantially. along line 5-5 of Fig. 3 when the framesarein assembled relation, the valve member not being shown, the dot-dash lines indicating the extreme limiting positions of the vibrating reed.

Figure 6 is a vertical section taken through a valve member and coacting inlet port, the section beingtaken substantially along line'66 of Fig. 3 when the'frames are in assembled relation, the dot-dash lines showing the valve member inits extreme limiting positions.

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section of the device taken through a valve member between an inlet portand the reed, the section being taken substantially-along-line 7-7 of 'Fig. 3 when the frames are in assembled relation, the dot-dash lines showing different operative positions of the respective reed and valve members from the respective positions indicated in full lines.

The-reed structure illustrated in the drawings is, for thepurpose of this. specification, of the type adapted for use in an accordion, there being a plurality of such reed structures containing tuned reeds adapted to operate at frequencies in accordance with the specific key structure of the instrument. As is well known to those skilled:-in-the art, each key is connected through a valve mechanism-1o one of-v said reed structures, whereby currents of air will be selectively directedfrom the bellows to. one-.or more of the reed devices. It is not deemed necessary for the purpose of this specification to describe thiswell-known construction, other than to state that one face of each reed device is in operative communication with a key or other manually manipulable key selector, the other face being connected to an air chamber, the arrangement .being such that upon a compression of the bellows and an actuation of a key, a current of air will be directed toward one of said faces of the reed structure, and upon an expansion of the bellows air will be drawn through the opposite face of the reed structure, to operatively actuate the reed in a manner to be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In the particular form of my invention illustrated, the casing consists of a front frame 11 and arear frame 12, both being of similar construction and being maintained in coactive relation by the fastener 13 extending through the respective upper portions 14 and 15 of said front and rear frames 11 and 12. Frame member 11 contains a longitudinal substantially rectangular apertured portion 16 defined by the opposing lateral walls 17 and 18 and the respective upper and lower walls 19 and 20. Frame member 12 contains a longitudinal substantially rectangular apertured portion 21 defined by opposing lateral walls 22 and 23 and the respective upper and lower walls 24 and 25. Both of said apertured portions 16 and 21 are of identical proportions and in substantial horizontal registry.

The bottom of frame member 11 contains the wall 11a to which is attached, by the fastening pin 26, the base 27 of the tongue or reed 28. Said reed is of flat configuration and normally extends longitudinally in line with the engaging edges of said frame members, the reed being so proportioned that its upper portion is movable into said respective apertured portions 16 and 21 upon the operative vibration of the reed. More specifically, the lateral edges 29 and 30 of said reed are disposed somewhat inwardly of said lateral sides 17, 18 of the front apertured portion 16, and of the corresponding lateral sides 22, 23 of the rear apertured portion 21the upper edge 31 of said reed being slightly spaced below the corresponding upper walls 19 and 24 of said respective apertured portions 16 and 21-the arrangement being such as to enable the reed to clear the walls defining said apertured portions.

The front wall 32 of said front frame 11 contains therein the inlet ports 33 and 34, these being in flanking relation to the front apertured outlet portion 16. The rear frame member 12 contains correspondingly posi tioned inlet ports 35 and 36 in flanking relation to the rear apertured outlet portion 21. The front and rear inlet ports 33 and 35 are in substantial horizontal regis try, as are the oppositely positioned front and rear inlet ports 34 and 36. Attached to the inner surface 37 of the front wall 32 are the valve flaps 38 and 39, these being preferably, although not necessarily, of resilient material, and being attached by mucilaginous or other suitable means. Only the respective lower portions 46 and 41 of said valve flaps are attached to wall 32, the

respective upper portions 42 and 43 of said valve flaps being free. Valve flap 38 is proportioned to extend beyond the peripheries defining the respective ports 33 and 35; and valve flap 39 is proportioned to extend beyond the peripheries of the respective ports 34 and 36. The arrangement is hence such that when the free portions 42 and 43 of said valve flaps are operatively actuated, in a manner to be hereinafter described, each of said flaps will alternately close the respective ports with respect to which it is coactively positioned.

By referring to Figs. 5 and 7 it will be seen that the upper inner portions 44 and 45 of lateral walls 17 and 18 of front frame 11 are inclined upwardly and forwardly, away from the normal or undefiected position of the reed 28; and similarly the upper inner portions 46 and 47 of lateral walls 22 and 23 are inclined upwardly and rearwardly, away from the normal or undefiected position of the reed 28. It is hence apparent that when the reed is in its said normal position, said respective outlet apertured portions 16 and 21 are in communication with the inlet ports 33, 34 and 35, 36 respectively. This is apparent from an inspection of Figs. 5, 6 and 7, which show clearance spaces 48, 49, 50 and 51 between the said reed 28 and the adjacent inclined walls 4.4, 45, 46 and 47, said clearance spaces constituting in elfect passageways communicating between the said respective ports and said apertured portions 16 and 21. It will further be observed that the inclinations of said upper wall portions 44 and 45 begin substantially at the level of the lowermost edges 52 and 53 of said inlet ports 33 and 34; and similarly, the inclinations of said upper wall portions 46 and 47 begin substantially at the level of the lowermost edges 54 and 55 of said inlet ports 35 and 36. The arrangement is hence such that the lower portion 56 of the reed 28 rests substantially flush against the flat vertical wall 57, the passageways or clearance spaces 48, 49, 50 and 51 being positioned only in the region of the inlet ports, and not therebelow, these being the regions of effective vibration of the reed.

Laterally flanking each of the inlet ports are the wall portions of the respective frames, these constituting seats for the respective valve flaps 38 and 39. In the preferred construction illustrated, each of these seats is inclined upwardly away from the valve, to provide a seating position for adequately closing one port while leaving suflicient opening for the opposite port. Specifically, in the frame 11 the said valve seats are generally designated 58, and are inclined upwardly and forwardly at a greater inclination than that of the corresponding inclined walls 44 and 45 of the apertured portion 16. Similarly, in the frame 12 the said valve seats are generally designated 59, and are inclined upwardly and rearwardly at a greater inclination than that of the corresponding inclined walls 46 and 48 of the apertured portion 21. It will be noted that the inclinations of said respective valve seats 58 and 59 begin at points below the points at which the inclinations of walls 44, 45, 46 and 47 begin, thereby permitting each of said inlet ports to be fully opened when the valve flaps are operatively separated therefrom, as will more clearly hereinafter appear.

To help in the assembly of frames 11 and 12 a pilot-pin arrangement is employed. As illustrated, in the lower portion of the rear wall 12 are two forwardly projecting pins 60, the corresponding portions of the inner wall of the front frame 11 containing the correspondingly positioned recesses 61 proportioned to receive the said pins 60. The aforesaid fastener pin 26, which secures the reed in place, protrudes rearwardly, to be received by the recess 62 at the bottom of the rear frame 12. When the frames 11 and 12 are operatively assembled together, the

said pilot pins 6&5 and pin 26 operatively enter the said respective recesses 61 and 62, thereby to properly position the said frame members with respect to each other. The fastener 13 is then inserted through the respective holes 13a and 13b in the upper portions of the frames, to secure the two frames together. In the form illustrated, said fastener 13 is a rivet.

When the parts are assembled in the manner aforesaid, the two apertured portions 16 and 21 together form a reed chamber 64 within which the reed 28 can operatively vibrate. As illustrated, the frames of the upper portions of said apertured portions 16 and 21 contain the respective hoods 65 and 66, said hoods comprising upper canopies 67 and 68, respectively, and downwardly and inwardly tapering walls generally designated 69. The arrangement is such as to provide a somewhat enlarged upper reed-chamber portion, inasmuch as the uppermost portion of the reed has the greatest amplitude of vibration-the said hoods serving as protective enclosures to prevent interference with the operative movement of said reed.

In the operation of this device it will be assumed that, upon the operative actuation of a key, a current of air is directed into inlet ports 33 and 34. This will cause the said valve flaps 38 and 39 to move rearwardly against seats 59 to close the respective rear ports 35 and 36. The entering air currents will be deflected toward the center of the device-that is, through passageways 48, 49, 50 and 51 into the reed chamber 64. Inasmuch as the said air currents enter the chamber from opposite lateral sides thereof, they will operatively engage the reed member 28 on their way out through the respective apertured portions 16 and 21. desired pitch to be produced in accordance with the frequency'characteristic of the reed. On the reverse operation of the instrument, currents of air will enter through the rear ports 35 and 36, causing the valve flaps 38 and 39'to move forwardly against seats 58 to close'the front ports 33 and 34said currents of air being deflected centrally through said passageways 48, 49, 50 and 51into engagement with the reed 28 and then outwardly through the apertured portions 16 and 21.

It is apparent that inasmuch as air currents are intro: duced along lateral portions of the reed chamber, the currents are brought into engagement with a substantial portionof the reed, in contradistinction to the relatively narrow portion of the reed initially actuated by the air currents in the structure ofthe invention of said Patent No. 2,787,928 where the air currents are drawn in at the top adjacent the free terminal end of the reed. More over, inasmuch as, in thepreferred construction, there are two inlet ports positioned on oppositesides of the reed, there is an equal and simultaneous actuation of laterally opposite sides of the reed, a symmetry of operation which produces an undistorted sound. And since the air currents enteringon inspiration and expiration follow substantially similar courses with respect to the reed chamber and the reed itself, there is no audible distinction between tonal qualities upon a reversal of the direction of the air currents. Because, as aforesaid, the actuating air currents engage a substantial portion ofthe reed along its length, not only is a uniform sound obtained from the instant of introduction of air through the sustained period of vibration, but also the natural sound-producing potentialities'of the reed are brought into play, whereby there is practically no suppression of overtones.

The positioning of the inlet ports"33,'34, 35 and 36 laterally with'respect to the'reed'chamber permits a substantial portion of the top walls 14 and 15 of the frames to be employed for receiving an adequately proportioned securing member'like 13. This is to be distinguished from the structure of said priorpatent, in which it is necessary to employ an extremely thin andfweak fastening pin, in view of the presence of an inlet port in, the upper wall. It is because of the extremely thin pin in the structure of said patent that it has been found necessary to employ other fastenings in the body of the structure, an arrangement not necessary in the structure of my present invention.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by way of example and in preferred manner; but obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or manner of practicing same, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a reed structure, a casing having therein a reed chamber, a front outlet apertured portion and a rear outlet apertured portion, said apertured portions communicating with the atmosphere and said chamber, a reed operatively mounted within said chamber, one end portion of the reed being attached to said casing, the other end being free, said casing also having a front inlet port and a rear inlet port in said casing, both of said ports being in communication with said chamber, a valve seat operatively associated with each of said ports, the valve seat at said rear inlet port being inclined upwardly and rearwardly, and the valve seat at said front inlet port being inclined upwardly and forwardly, and a valve member mounted in said casing between said ports and alternatively movable into operative closing engagement with the respective seats of said front and rear ports, whereby currents of air operatively entering said respective ports will alternately pass into the said chamber to operatively en- It is this vibration which will causethe 6, gage the adjacent lateral edge of said reed and leave said structure through said outlet apertured portions.

21111 a reed structure, a casing having therein a reed chamber and an outlet apertured portion communicating with the atmosphere and said chamber, a reed operatively mounted within said chamber, one end portion of the reed being attached to said casing, the other end being free, said casing also having two air inletports in laterally flanking relation to said reed and said chamber and in communication with said chamber, an inclined valve seat operatively associated with each of said ports, the inclination of said seats being away from the free termi nal end of said reed, and two valve" members in said casingin operative relation to said respective ports, whereby currents of air operativelyentering said ports will pass into said chamber to operatively engage the opposite lateral edges of said reed and leavesaid structure through said outlet apertured portion.

3. In a reed structure, a casing having therein a longitudinal reed chamber, a front outlet apertured portion and a rearoutlet apertured portion, said apertured portions'communicating withthe atmosphere and said chamher, a reed operatively mounted-within said chamber, one end portion of the reed-being attached to said casing, the other end being free, said casing having two air inlet ports in the front portion thereof in laterally flanking relation to said reed and in communication with said chamber, and two air inlet ports in the rear portion thereof' in laterally flanking relation to said reedand in communication with said'chamber, a valve seat operatively associated with each of said ports, and two valve members mounted in said casing'in flanking relation to said reed, each of said valve members being disposed between saidfrontand rear ports on the corresponding side of the casing and alternately movable into operative closing engagement with the respective seats of said correspondingly positioned frontand rear ports, whereby currents of air operatively entering said front ports and said rear ports, respectively, will alternately pass into said chamber to operatively engage the adjacent lateral edge of said reed and leave said structure through said outlet apertured portions, the said valve seats at said rear inlet ports being inclined upwardly and rearwardly, and the said valve seats at said front inlet ports'being inclined-upwardly and forwardly.

4. In a reed structure, a casing having thereina longitudinal reed chamber, a front outlet apertured portion and a rear outlet apertured portion, said apertured portions communicatingwith the atmosphere and said cham ber, a reed operatively mounted within said chamber, one end portion of the reed being attached to said casing, the other end being free, said casing having'two air inlet ports in the front portion thereof in laterally flanking relation to said reed and in communication with said chamber, and two air inlet ports in the rear portion there of in laterally flanking relation to said reed and in communication with said chamber, a valve seat operatively associated with each of said ports, and two valve members mounted in said casing in flanking relation to said reed, each of said valve members being disposed between said front and rear ports on the corresponding side of the casing and alternately movable into operative closing engagement with the respective seats of said correspondingly positioned front and rear ports, whereby currents of air operatively entering said front ports and said rear ports, respectively, will alternately pass into said chamber to operatively engage the adjacent lateral edge of said reed and leave said structure through said outlet apertured portions, said outlet apertured portions each being defined by laterally opposite and top and bottom walls, the upper portions of said laterally opposite walls of the front outlet apertured portion being inclined upwardly and forwardly, the upper portions of said laterally opposite walls of the rear outlet apertured portion being inclined upwardly and rearwardly, said reed normally extending upwardly between said inclined walls, whereby clearance spaces are provided between said reed and said respective inclined upper portions to permit the operative passage of currents of air from said ports to said reed chamber.

5. In a reed structure, a casing having therein a longitudinal reed chamber, a front outlet apertured portion and a rear outlet apertured portion, said apertured portions communicating with the atmosphere and said chamber, a reed operatively mounted within said chamber, one end portion of the reed being attached to said casing, the other end being free, said casing having two air inlet ports in the front portion thereof in laterally flanking relation to said reed and in communication with said chamber, and two air inlet ports in the rear portion thereof in laterally flanking relation to said reed and in communication with said chamber, a valve seat operatively associated with each of said ports, andtwo ,valve members mounted in said casing in flanking relation to said reed, each of said valve members being disposed between said front and rear ports on the corresponding side of the casing and alternately movable into operative closing engagement with therespective seats of said correspondingly positioned front and rear ports, whereby currents of air operatively entering said frontports and said rear ports, respectively, will alternately pass into said chamber to operatively engage the adjacent lateral edge of said reed and leave said structure through said outlet apertured portions, said casing comprising a front frame member and a rear frame member, said respective front and rear frame members having the respective front and rear inlet ports and the respective front and rear outlet apertured portions.

6. In a reed structure, a casing having therein alongitudinal reed chamber, a front outlet apertured portion and a rear outlet apertured portion, said apertured portions communicating with the atmosphere and said chamber, a reed operatively mounted within said chamber, one end portion of the reed being attached to said casing, the other end being free, said casing having two air inlet ports in the front portion thereof in laterally flanking relation to said reed and in communication with said chamber, and two air inlet ports in the rear portion thereof in laterally flanking relation to said reed and in communication with said chamber, a valve seat operatively associatedtwith each of said ports; and two valve members mounted in said casing in flanking relation to said reed, each of said valve members being disposed between said-front and rear ports on the corresponding side of the casing and alternately movable into operative closing engagement with the respective seats of said correspondingly positioned front and rear ports, whereby currents of air operatively entering said front ports and said rear ports, respectively, will alternately pass into said chamber to operatively engage the adjacent lateral edge of said reed and leave said structure through said outlet apertured portions, said casing comprising a front frame member and a rear frame member, said respective front and rear frame members having the respective front and rear inlet ports and the respective front and rear outlet apertured portions, said frame members having abutting upper walls above said chamber, and fastening means in said walls operatively securing together said frame members.

7. In a reed structure, a casing having therein a longitudinal reed chamber, a front outlet apertured portion and a rear outlet apertured portion, said apertured portions communicating with the atmosphere and said chamber, a reed operatively mounted within said chamber, one end portion of the reed being attached to said casing, the other end being free, said casing having two air inlet ports in the front portion thereof in laterally flanking relation to said reed and in communication with said chamber, and two air inlet ports in the rear portion thereof in laterally flanking relation to said reed and in communication with said chamber, a valve seat operatively associated with each of said ports, and two valve members mounted in said casing in flanking relation to said reed, each of said valve members being disposed between said front and rear ports on the corresponding side of the casing and alternately movable into operative closing engagement with the respective seats of said correspondingly positioned front and rear ports, whereby currents of air operatively entering said front ports and said rear ports, respectively, will alternately pass into said chamber to-operatively engage the adjacent lateral edge of said reed and leave said structure through said outlet apertured portions, the said valve seats at said rear inlet ports being inclined upwardly and rearwardly, and the said valve seats at said front inlet ports being inclined upwardly and forwardly, said outlet apertured portions each being defined by laterally opposite and top and bottom walls, the upper portions of said laterally opposite walls of the front outlet apertured portion being inclined upwardly and forwardly, the upper portions of said laterally opposite walls of the rear outlet apertured portion being inclined upwardly and rearwardly, said reed normally extending upwardly between said inclined walls, whereby clearance spaces are provided between said reed and said respective inclined upper portions to permit the operative passage of currents of air from said ports to said reed chamber, said valve seats being inclined at a greater inclination than the said respective corresponding upper inclined portions of said laterally opposite walls.

8. In a reed structure, the combination according to claim 7, said respective valve seats beginning at points below the respective lowermost points of said respective inclined upper portions of said laterally opposite walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,787,928 Magalik et al Apr. 9, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 961,248 France Nov. 14, 1949 

